Dana Matthew Cowell

Dana Matthew Cowell passed away peacefully at home with his family by his side. He was born in

Fall River, Mass., and raised in Grafton, Wis. He graduated from Carthage College in Kenosha, Wis., and received his Master's Degree in Urban Planning at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Dana worked for 26 years with the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) in the Sacramento, Marysville, Stockton and Oakland districts. He served as Deputy District Director, Planning and Local Assistance for the eight-county area covered by the CalTrans Office in Stockton, and as Deputy District Director, Planning and Local Assistance for the nine-county Bay Area with offices in Oakland.

For the last six years of his career, Dana served as Deputy Director of the San Joaquin Council of Governments, the local Transportation Authority responsible for the Measure K half-cent sales tax in San Joaquin County. His main duties were in the areas of Regional Planning, RideShare, Transit and Project Delivery. During his executive assignments, Dana was blessed with very capable teams and strong working relationships, a highlight of his career. He was named "Manager of the Year" by CalTrans, District 10 a decade ago, and recently by the California Transportation Foundation in June 2011.

In 1979, Dana met his wife Van Ha To at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, when he was a graduate student at the School of Planning and she worked at the university's Science-Engineering Library. They celebrated their 30 years of marriage on April 11, 2011. They're blessed with two delightful sons, Evan and Andrew.

The highlight of Dana's years at Carthage College was the concert choir tour in Europe. A 25-year resident of Stockton, Dana was a member of Central United Methodist Church, where he was part of the choir, a member of a quartet, and a Sunday School (Godly Play) teacher to middle graders. Dana participated in the annual Rotary Read In and volunteered for the Junior Achievement Program at several Stockton schools. Dana's favorite pastimes were spending time with his family, reading, visiting museums, going to movies and watching sports. He was a big fan of the Giants, the 49ers, the Green Bay Packers, the Red Sox, and the Celtics. Dana was the family Santa. At every Christmas gathering, Dana took pleasure in calling out presents one by one to his large extended family.

Dana was preceded in death by his father, Edward Cowell. He will forever live in the hearts of his large family, including his mother, Elaine, a resident of Cedar Ridge in West Bend, Wis.; his brothers Matthew (Betty) of New Orleans; and Peter (Gena) of Bakersfield; mother-in-law Minh Ha of Stockton; 10 sisters-in-law, six brothers-in-law and several nephews and nieces: Alex Cowell, Samantha Kai Cowell, Grant Cowell, William Lam, Angela Nguyen, Michele Nguyen, Aaron Nguyen, Eric La, Erika La, Joaquin Gutterres-Higino and Matteus Gutterres-Higino. One of Dana's great pleasures was the frequent gatherings of the extended family.

A celebration of Dana's life will be held on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 11 a.m. at Central United Methodist Church, 3700 Pacific Ave., Stockton.

Memorial contributions may be designated to Central United Methodist Church or Lincoln Unified School District with the memo for Cowell Education Scholarship.